Anyone seen blackfish? | Animals | Forums

I'm a biology nerd, so I enjoyed the discussion of the psycho-social aspects of killer whales.  The stories of mother orcas grieving the loss of their offspring is heartbreaking. I'm convinced that whales are sentient, so as much as they are a bunch of bumbling idiots, I find myself even cheering for the Sea Shepherds on Whale Wars.  

I think the risks Sea World exposed their trainers to is criminal.  It's pretty obvious they knew Tilikum was a problem. I know he represented a large investment, but he shouldn't have been performing.  As far as keeping him for breeding stock, the behavioral problems seems to be environmental, not genetic.  The only way to solve the behavior problems is to release these whales back into the wild.  I know there would be objections based on the Sea World orcas never having been in the wild, but if they are truly sentient beings, then dying in their natural habitat would be better than becoming broken in a prison.

I went to Sea World as a kid.  I'll never take my kids there.  Seeing this movie even made me think about the local zoo.  Are the animals there because they are endangered, or solely for entertainment? Is my zoo willing to house injured and rescued animals, or just pristine showpieces?  We spend a chunk of change every year at the zoo. We're zoo society members and we go as a family 6 or 7 times a year, including birthday parties.